Bill Callahan

Bill Callahan

Bill Callahan never talks. He rarely gives interviews, and even when he does, he doesn't say much. Full sentences are rare. Complete thoughts are practically surgical extractions. He's polite and hesitant and prone to lots of ... awkward ... pauses. Callahan, 45, used to record under the nom de misery Smog before releasing a series of increasingly great albums under his own name, culminating in his 14th and best, "Apocalypse." An impossibly good mix of Leonard Cohen, Merle Haggard and 10 kinds of idiosyncratic folk, "Apocalypse," which was released in April, is depressing and complicated and beautiful. It boasts at least one knockout punch -- "America!" -- which enlists Johnny Cash and Kris Kristofferson in a battle against U.S. imperialism ("Afghanistan/Vietnam/Iran/Native America/America!/ Well everyone's allowed a past they don't care to mention"). "It's a very inward record," says Callahan. "Each song looks deeper and deeper into a different (world)." 9 p.m. Friday at The Criss/Cross Tent in Eckhart Park, Chicago Avenue and Noble Street; $20; ticketweb.comRead the full Bill Callahan interview

Bill Callahan never talks. He rarely gives interviews, and even when he does, he doesn't say much. Full sentences are rare. Complete thoughts are practically surgical extractions. He's polite and hesitant and prone to lots of ... awkward ... pauses. Callahan, 45, used to record under the nom de misery Smog before releasing a series of increasingly great albums under his own name, culminating in his 14th and best, "Apocalypse." An impossibly good mix of Leonard Cohen, Merle Haggard and 10 kinds of idiosyncratic folk, "Apocalypse," which was released in April, is depressing and complicated and beautiful. It boasts at least one knockout punch -- "America!" -- which enlists Johnny Cash and Kris Kristofferson in a battle against U.S. imperialism ("Afghanistan/Vietnam/Iran/Native America/America!/ Well everyone's allowed a past they don't care to mention"). "It's a very inward record," says Callahan. "Each song looks deeper and deeper into a different (world)." 9 p.m. Friday at The Criss/Cross Tent in Eckhart Park, Chicago Avenue and Noble Street; $20; ticketweb.comRead the full Bill Callahan interview

Bill Callahan never talks. He rarely gives interviews, and even when he does, he doesn't say much. Full sentences are rare. Complete thoughts are practically surgical extractions. He's polite and hesitant and prone to lots of ... awkward ... pauses. Callahan, 45, used to record under the nom de misery Smog before releasing a series of increasingly great albums under his own name, culminating in his 14th and best, "Apocalypse." An impossibly good mix of Leonard Cohen, Merle Haggard and 10 kinds of idiosyncratic folk, "Apocalypse," which was released in April, is depressing and complicated and beautiful. It boasts at least one knockout punch -- "America!" -- which enlists Johnny Cash and Kris Kristofferson in a battle against U.S. imperialism ("Afghanistan/Vietnam/Iran/Native America/America!/ Well everyone's allowed a past they don't care to mention"). "It's a very inward record," says Callahan. "Each song looks deeper and deeper into a different (world)." 9 p.m. Friday at The Criss/Cross Tent in Eckhart Park, Chicago Avenue and Noble Street; $20; ticketweb.comRead the full Bill Callahan interview